Evan Ratliff: Our Future with Voice Agents

Evan Ratliff: Our Future with Voice Agents

Author: Daniel Bashir September 26, 2024 Duration: 1:19:59

Episode 139

I spoke with Evan Ratliff about:

* Shell Game, Evan’s new podcast, where he creates an AI voice clone of himself and sets it loose.

* The end of the Longform Podcast and his thoughts on the state of journalism.

Enjoy!

Evan is an award-winning investigative journalist, bestselling author, podcast host, and entrepreneur. He’s the author of the The Mastermind: A True Story of Murder, Empire, and a New Kind of Crime Lord; the writer and host of the hit podcasts Shell Game and Persona: The French Deception; and the cofounder of The Atavist Magazine, Pop-Up Magazine, and the Longform Podcast. As a writer, he’s a two-time National Magazine Award finalist. As an editor and producer, he’s a two-time Emmy nominee and National Magazine Award winner.

Find me on Twitter for updates on new episodes, and reach me at editor@thegradient.pub for feedback, ideas, guest suggestions.

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Outline:

* (00:00) Intro

* (01:05) Evan’s ambitious and risky projects

* (04:45) Wearing different personas as a journalist

* (08:31) Boundaries and acceptability in using voice agents

* (11:42) Impacts on other people

* (13:12) “The kids these days” — how will new technologies impact younger people?

* (17:12) Evan’s approach to children’s technology use

* (20:05) Techno-solutionism and improvements in medicine, childcare

* (24:15) Evan’s perspective on simulations of people

* (27:05) On motivations for building tech startups

* (30:42) Evan’s outlook for Shell Game’s impact and motivations for his work

* (36:05) How Evan decided to write for a career

* (40:02) How voice agents might impact our conversations

* (43:52) Evan’s experience with Longform and podcasting

* (47:15) Perspectives on doing good interviews

* (52:11) Mimicking and inspiration, developing style

* (57:15) Writers and their motivations, the state of longform journalism

* (1:06:15) The internet and writing

* (1:09:41) On the ending of Longform

* (1:19:48) Outro

Links:

* Evan’s homepage and Twitter

* Shell Game, Evan’s new podcast

* Longform Podcast



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Hosted by Daniel Bashir, The Gradient: Perspectives on AI moves beyond surface-level headlines to explore the intricate machinery and human ideas shaping artificial intelligence. Each episode is built on a foundation of deep research, leading to conversations that are both technically substantive and broadly accessible. You'll hear from researchers, engineers, and philosophers who are actively building and critiquing our technological future, discussing not just how AI systems work, but the larger implications of their integration into society. This isn't about speculative hype; it's a grounded examination of real progress, persistent challenges, and ethical considerations from those on the front lines. The discussions peel back layers on topics like model architecture, policy, and the fundamental science behind the algorithms becoming part of our daily lives. For anyone curious about the substance behind the buzz-whether you have a technical background or are simply keen to understand a defining technology of our age-this podcast offers a crucial and thoughtful resource. Tune in for a consistently detailed and nuanced take that treats artificial intelligence with the complexity it deserves.
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